Bruins win in a struggle against Stanford

LOS ANGELES – It was just the kind of physical, knock-down, drag-out early conference matchup that could've caught a young, inexperienced UCLA team off-balance — both teams shooting less than 36 percent in the first half, while turnovers were more common than assists.

But what the Bruins lack in experience in their young, seven-man rotation, they've made up for in patience and good defense in their first two Pac-12 games. That was especially true Saturday afternoon, as UCLA (12-3, 2-0) pulled away late in its ugly matchup with Stanford, 68-60 — again on the shoulders of freshman Shabazz Muhammad.

Few players in the nation have had better timing or been cooler in the clutch than Muhammad, and judging by the amped-up defensive effort from UCLA's recent opponents, he's starting to get the defensive respect that comes with that sort of distinction. But for Stanford (9-6, 0-2), as it was for Cal in the second-half of Thursday's game, those efforts were again for naught.

For the second consecutive game, Muhammad started off painfully slow on offense, shooting just 1 of 4 from the field after starting 1 of 7 Thursday. Without him, the Bruins were led, unexpectedly, by 15 consecutive points from Travis and David Wear to open the game, as it wasn't until 7:08 remained in the first half that any Bruin other than the Wears got anything to drop from the field. It's the kind of start that isn't quite in the wheelhouse of a young team that has relied a great deal so far on scoring a lot of points, not on defense — even if that trend seems to be changing.

"It's very difficult," UCLA coach Ben Howland said. "The way they played, they were very physical with us early. It was intense."

But through just a dozen games in his UCLA career, Muhammad has thrived off that sort of intensity — his eyes seemingly widening as the Bruins needed a scorer to push the game out of reach down the stretch. That killer instinct kicked in less than two minutes into the second half, as Muhammad hit two jumpers, sprinted down the floor and collected a defensive rebound all in the course of a single minute. Two minutes later, the Bruins' leading scorer drilled a 3-pointer — giving him double figures in all 12 games he's played in so far. A switch, as it has many times already this season, had flipped.

After that seven-point stretch and a 17-point second-half performance that pushed the Bruins to victory, it was patience, Muhammad said, that led to his outburst as he finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds.

"I just let the game come to me," Muhammad said. "I don't want to rush. I thought we were going off to a good start. The Wears started off really hot, and we were going to let them do their thing. ... I'm just trying to help my team out any way I can. And in the second half, things started to open up for me, and I started scoring the ball."

That kind of patience and willingness to do the little things — Muhammad tallied seven defensive rebounds after Howland questioned his skills on the defensive boards Thursday — has quickly made Muhammad the centerpiece of UCLA's hot start, as the Bruins have won seven in a row — their first such streak since 2008-09.

Calm and collected, Muhammad took to the free-throw line with the Bruins up by just six with 45 seconds remaining, having watched fellow freshman and free-throw extraordinaire Jordan Adams miss three consecutive one-and-ones. But after missing his first attempt, Muhammad made his next five, helping put away a pesky, less-talented Stanford team.

"Just because you don't start out fast," Howland said after the game, "it's how you finish the game that counts."

And for Muhammad and the Bruins, the finish — however ugly the game might have began — is certainly all that mattered.